I spent an hour or two with Andrew Rimmington and the engineering staff of ARC engineers, in Morley, Leeds earlier today
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Andrew is a keen supporter of continuous professional development and as he said to me today “We don’t do damp and timber surveys, but we need to know what’s involved and what they can deliver for our clients”.
So I prepared a presentation which included an introduction to psychrometrics, use and limitations of moisture meters and for the first time, I included Graham Coleman’s profile table too (thanks Graham).
Many slides from real on-site situations were used and the use of these, combined with a psychrometric chart, demonstrated the subtle but important differences between relative humidity and vapour pressure. BS5250 ‘ Control of condensation in buildings’ was introduced too and site case studies including remote humidity and temperature data logging were discussed.
The timber section included a brief talk on woodworm, with my selection of infested timber samples and insect samples being passed around the table (there was frass all over the place – sorry Andrew).
Identifying dry rot and wet rot was included and we touched on preservative treatments and how Safeguard’s micro-emulsions work against woodworm. Data plots from the past week’s timber micro-drilling surveys were looked at too, including how the Sibtec Micro-probe revealed hidden decay in the joints of a historic timber frame cottage I looked at in Wetherby, last week.
Talk then strayed onto damp issues in more modern property and mould growth, particularly in new ‘airtight’ homes, before defective wall tie installation and corrosion sneaked in at the end.
I wasn’t chucked out and nobody fell asleep, so that’s a bonus.
It’s good to visit such keen and enthusiastic professionals – it was a pleasure meeting them all.
Looking at my diary I can see the girls at Brick-Tie Preservation have me booked in for three damp & timber surveys and a cavity wall tie survey tomorrow; mainly around Leeds and Harrogate…….
Dry Rot.